Page 55 of Faerie Hunted

Onyx drained his gup before he answered her. “Delicious.” His tongue darted out to catch a stray drop of liquid and I chuckled.

“There are only a few hundred of her people that survived one of the king’s random purges,” Dorian explained when we sidled closer. “The island they inhabit is prime for minerals he uses for weapon production and the transportation system he implemented for the Seelie.”

A weight settled in my chest at his words.

We sat on the fallen logs around Dorian with enough space between us for me to be able to watch his expressions. The yellow-skinned fae woman took her seat again but Dorian gestured to someone in the distance, and another fae holding a tray approached. She bowed her head at me and Onyx before crouching, waiting for us to take the food from her.

Both our plates held the same assortment of delicacies. Meat roasted over the fire which would surely compliment the fresh salad, and a fritter made with some kind of faintly sweet cornmeal. Maybe the acorns I’d seen the dryads harvesting earlier?

I thanked the woman and stalled with my gaze lingering on the hammered silver necklace she wore. My hand automatically lifted to my own identical necklace.

She dipped in a curtsy of acknowledgement before disappearing back into the deepening twilight of the woods.

Anyone who approached had nothing but the best things to say about Dorian, how he’d single-handedly saved them, or a friend, or a family member. They damn near worshiped the man.

The only ones who stayed silent were the servants. They were awfully subdued in comparison to everyone else in the camp. The matching uniforms marked them for their station, and if the clothing wasn’t enough, the silver necklaces banded them together.

Weird.

Especially since I seemed to be the only other person in camp wearing one. Yet I wasn’t a servant.

The honeysuckle nectar went straight to my head and the feast pushed the confines of my belly pleasantly. When was the last time I’d been this warm, or this full? When was the last time I’d had my thirst slaked and listened to conversation without the slender thread of tension pulling certain parts of me tight?

I couldn’t remember.

One of the yellow-skinned fae drew Onyx into a conversation and he laughed, his head tilted back on his neck and his knee pressing against mine. My skin tingled where we touched, and even though I hadn't heard the punchline of the joke, I joined in the giggling.

After the feast, those who mingled around the fire broke out into impromptu singing and several others brought instruments out of nowhere.

Soon, the band struck up a lively chord that practically begged me to move my body.

“This is fantastic!” I called out to one of the fae.

She tapped her bare foot along with the tempo. “It’s like this every night. We stand together because we want a united Faerie!”

My head spinning, I didn’t break away when she placed her hand over mine and linked our fingers together. I felt her pulse inside of me as the music grew louder and brought us together.

“Dorian brought you here for a reason,” the fae woman continued.

My heart swelled. Thiswasfantastic. This was the way it should be. The people here really did stand united for a Faerie free of the king’s bigotry. Would it be so wrong to stand with them?

To believe the way they did, with utter conviction, that peace was possible?

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had such hope surging up from the depths of my being.

No matter who I spoke to, they were of the same mind. They spoke the same words of heart and hope and all kinds of things. They believed in the picture Dorian painted, and the more the night drew on, the easier it was for me to believe it, too.

Someone pressed another cup of nectar into my hand and I gulped it down greedily. The brew added to the sweet weight in my head, and the heavy blanket around my senses was a comfortable pall.

This time when someone grabbed my hand, I leaned into the contact, a little surprised when it turned out to be Onyx.

“Dance with me, Tavi!”

The music was a loud thrum in my blood. This time when my head spun, it was in the most delightful way, like I somehow spiraled right to the top of the wall dividing the kingdoms. I slapped my hand against Onyx's outstretched palm and allowed him to tug me to my feet.

Both of us swayed, so I knew he felt the way I did.

Tipsy.

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